Fiber-crossing apparatus for paper-machines



G. S. WITHAMI Jn. FIBER CROSSING APPARATUS FOR PAPER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1919. 1,383,363. Patented y 5,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR 1%171 Z MMQ ATTORNEY).

G. S. WITHAM, JR.

FIBER CROSSING APPARATUS FOR PAPER MACHINES. APPLICATION YFILEDAPR. {4, 1919- 1,383,363. Patented July 5, 19 21.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

2,; L5 9%?" BY QM/ M JA ATTORNEY G. S. WITHAM, JR FIBER CROSSING APPARATUS FOR PAPER MACHINES.

APPLlCAT-ION FILED APR.14, 1919 Patented July 5, 1921.

6? WWW/WAVE! INVENTOR (,5 ATTORNEYS u T D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE STANFORD WITHAM, JRI, OF HUDSON FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB, TO UNION BAG AND P APER CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

1 Fl'BERrGROSSING APPARATUS FOR PAPER-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 5, 1921.

Application filed April 14, 1919. Serial No. 289,859.

, T all whom it may concern -Be it known that I, GEORGE S. \VrrI-IAM, J12, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hudson Falls, in the county of Washington, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fiber- Crossing Apparatus for Paper-Machines;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to fiber-crossing apparatus for paper machines. 1 In the manufacture of paper intended for bags, wrapping purposes and newspapers, it is highly desirable that there be produced a rugged, tough, flexible sheet that will resist tearing in all directions. Paper produced in accordance with the usual method has not this characteristic for the fibers take up a general direction parallel to each other during the process of formation, so that the resultant product has a grain and may be torn more" easily in one direction than in another. Suchpaper is not suitable for the manufacture of bags and similar articles on account'of. its liability to tear along the grain, particularly since some of the folds or creases of the bag may run along the grain, thus tending to' still further increase the liability to tear. The usual way of attempting to secure'a deflecting or" crossingof the fibers-is to mount a section of the Fourdr1nier screen, so that an oscillatory or shaking movement may be imparted to'this section of the screen in a direction transverse to its travel. The amount of crossing produced by such arrangements is at best insufficient to give the fibers enough deflection to .produce a weave that will resist tearing in one direction as, much as in another. v

Arrangements depending upon the use of a series of projections or teeth extending into the stream' of paper stock have been proposed.- These devices are'supposedto cre-' ate a seriesof small eddiesacross the flow; of the paper stock, thereby givlng the fibers a tendency to cross and interlace each other.

Such arrangements are usually applied to the paper .stock before it.-reaches the slice bar, so that the stock is supposed. to be presented to better advantage to the shaking Fourdrinier' screen with the idea that they ranged parallel to each other, thereby lessening the effectiveness of the device. If, on the other hand, it be attempted to place the device near the suction boxes where the stock is relatively dry, then the resultant paper will have'ridges and depressions, due to the teeth. These and other disadvantages lessen or even destroy the eflectiveness of such arrangements, so that they have not been used to any extent.

It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of prior arrangements for crossing fibers by providing an apparatus in which there is a number of fiber deflecting elements adapted to lie in the stream of the stock obliquely to its direc: tion of travel; these elements being of such a construction thatthey may be applied to the stock to produce a crossing or interlacingof the fibers at a point so near the zone of action of the suction boxes that the fibers "bejsaved, as well as wear and tear on the machine. The apparatus possesses the further advantage thatit will act as 'a leveler for the paper stock, thus tending to render the paper produced on the machine more uniform n thlckness.

The particular nature of the invention, as

well as. other objects and advantages thereof,

will appear more clearly from a description of certain preferred embodiments as shown in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a standard paper machine having mounted'thereon, a modification of the invention employing a dandy roll;

Fig. 2 is an enlargedview in elevation of the adjustable mounting of the device; 7

, is'a plan view of the same;

' .Fig'. Gis

Fig. I c a a a mount1ng WhICh carries a device employing F 1g. 4 -'is a transverse viewji'n section throu'gh the screen and side .frames of the paper machine; e ig, 5 is a modifiedform ofthe devlce mounted upon 'snother type of adjustingmechanism Fig. -7 "is a side view of anotherform of spring fingersas the deflecting elements;

1 Fig. 8 1s a'plan, view of this modification Fig. 9 isa transverse 'viewj Fig. 10 is an enlarged view showing the adjustablemou'ntling' for the spring fingers;

' Figs. 11,12 and;13 are elevation 'and'pla'n views-cf a'-Inodification in which coils of wire are employ as t e g, f'i" merits; and v v t Fig.14 is an elevation of aportionofa paper'machine ofthe; cylindrical type with I the'invention applied thereto.'

- For'the-purpose of illustrating the appli cation 'ofythe invention, only so much of the {paper machine is shown as is necessary, for a complete understanding of the presentiimprovementQ In Fig.1 1 the paper-machine is of standard construction, having 1ongitudi-' "so nalside frames between which'are mount ed carrier rolls 21 for. supporting'the Fourdirection oftravel of the screen parted to the latter,

. mechanism by which drinie-r'screen 23. On each side of the screen is a shake rail 24, these portions of the -,ap paratus' being so mounted that 'an oscillatory movement 'or shake? transverse to the but as the particular shaken forms no part of'the, present invention, and in fact may be eliminated by. em-

ploying the invention, it,will not be described.' After passing over the shake portion of the machine, the screen travels over suction boxes 25 of the usual construction.

, the apparatus, a plate' 'As is customary is at each side'of themachine a deckle strap 26 running over-"pulleys 27.

In accordance with the embodiment of the i'n'venti'onshown in Figs. 1 to 5, there is mounted on the shake rail 24 on' each'side of 28 which may be at tached by straps 29 and bolts 30, or in any other suitable manner.

- is a frame 31 hinged at the plate, and at the'other end provided with abracket 33 which engages an adjusting nut a 34upon a vertical screw 35 other end of the plate.-

Upon each plate '28 one end, as at 32, to

provided with upstanding end portions 36 between which extends a rod'37 and a screw 38 provided with a squared end by which it may beturned by a'suitable key. Slidably mounted on the rod 37 and engaging the screw 38 is a block 39 which is provided With a bearing 40 through which passes a a side viewd of the mounting of.

maybe im-.

.this screen maybe in all paper machines, there attached to the The frame 31 is.

moving messes I a shaft 41.1 It will be" understood that the above arrangement, is duplicated on the two 41, and extendingacross the F ourdrinier screen23 is a dandy roll'42 of any suitable construction, but which, in accordance with the present inventiom carries a fiber deflectsides of themachine. and between-theshafts mg element consisting 'ofa helix of wire 43,

the convolutions'of the helix-being separated a sufficient-distance to give the-"required pitch 7a .to'the. coil to produce the deflecting'or cross-f ing action upon the fibers of the paper stock.

The wire of which the helix] is .tormed should be of such sizethat when the. surface of the dandyroll lies adjacent the top of the layer of'paper'stocklcarried by the F ourdrinier screen, the wire will dip into the tended as M4? to carry adrivingpulley 48 connected by'a belt 49 with apulley 50 by which "power may be 'transmi'tted'from a moving part of the' paper machine. A belt 51 is carried around the pulley 44 and then carried over the endpulleys 46. *By .virtue of this driving arrangement, the dandy roll maybe adjusted back and forth .upon the rod 37 by manipulation of the screw 38 and et" may be driven by the belt 51 no matter w at position it may occupywith respect to the pulleys 46. v

Intheoperation of the embodiment of the. invention described above, the dandyroll 42 is adjusted, by means of the nuts 34 and screws 35, so that the .face of the roll will'be ust tudinally of the machine by the screws 38, so

that itoccupies a position where the mosteffective deflecting of the fibers-takes place. The dandy roll is rotated so that'the part adjacent the screen travels with the screen, but it isfound in'practice that the best results will be'secured if theperipheral speed above the layer'of stock upon the 'Fourdrinier- :screen, while the wire 43 will dipinto -the stock. The dandy roll is also adjusted Iongiof the dandy roll is somewhat less than that i of the screen, sothat'there is a drag be-.

tween convolutions of the dandy roll and the stockpassing under the roll. The efi'ec-.

tiveness of the apparatus depends partly on the mechanicaljdefie cting 'effect'of the wires which lie at an angle to the direction of 't'ravel'of'the fibers, and also upon the ripple Or eddy efi'ects produced by the convolutions of wire dipping into the liquid stockand longitudinally. and transversely thereof ithese effects 'causing the fibersto assume -a .woven'or. interlaced relation which will produce a paper having a high tear in adapted for use in the manufactureof paper bags, or for wrapplng. or newspaper;

Fig. 5 may be used, in which anoppositely directed helix 52 is combined with the other one. In order to avoid the irregularities in the contour of the coils which would be produced if the convolutions of the two helices overlappedeach other, the wires should be .50 connected at their points of intersection as to avoid such overlapping. In other words, the points where the wires intersect should be no thicker than the intermediate portions of the wires.

In connection with the dandy roll illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, there is shown a modified form of adjustable support, but it will be understood that the double helix form v of dandy roll shown in Fig. 5 may be used with the form of mounting shown in the preceding figures and .vice versa. In the mounting shown in Figs.5 and 6, there is attached to the shake'rail on each side of the ma chine, by straps or bolts or in any other convenient manner, a plate 53. Hinged to the plate 53 is a bracket 54; having an upwardly bent portion cooperating with an adjusting nut-55 on a vertical screw 56. A bearing 57 is detachably mounted upon the bracket 54,. by a bolt and slot connection, or

in any other suitable manner, and this bearing carries the sha ft .58 of the dandy roll. The shaft 58 at one side of the machine is extended and carries a pulley 59 adapted to be driven from a moving part of the paper machine. The form of mounting just described has not the range of longitudinal adjustment that the mounting shown in the preceding figures possesses, but is useful in cases where no great change in the longitudinal position of the dandy roll is necessary, or if such changes are required the plates 53 --may be moved along the shake rail of the machine. v j The invention may be embodied in various other forms in which the deflecting elements are not adapted to be moved during the operation of the device and one of these arrangements is shown in Figs. 7 to 10, while another one is show-n in Figs. 11.12 and 13. In the arrangement shown in the first named group of figures, the deflecting elements are in the form of curved Y-shaped spring fingers 60 adapted to dip into the paper stock. The stem portions of these-fingers maybe clampedbetween two bars 61 which in turn are attached to a tube 62 adapted to be adjustably retained in a bearing63 at each side of the apparatus by' set screws 64. The bearings 63 are adjustably-connected to the inner ends ofbrackets 65 slidably mounted upon a rod 66 between the ends of a frame sizing 'and beating conditions.

of'the paper machine. A screw 68 threaded j 1 through the bracket enables the latter to be Instead of using a single helix of wire upon the dandy roll, as shown in the figure described above, the arrangement shown in moved. along the rod (36 and held in any desired, position of longitudinal adjustment.

' In Figs. 11, 12 and 13 there is shown a modification of theinvention in which the deflecting elements consist of a pair of parallel coils 69 extending across the Fourdrinier screen'withthe convolutions of one coil j reversed with respect to those of the other. The coils may be mounted upon semicircularrnembers 70 which are connected to a transverse bar 71 so that the coils are clamped between the members and the lower face of the bar. Thebar 71 is adjustably supported upon brackets 72 by screw con-- nections 73, and the bracket 72' may "be mounted upon the shake rail of the paper machine by an arrangement like that shown in Figs. 7, S and 9. I

In the case of both of the arrangements described above, the deflecting action of the apparatus depends upon fixed. elements which dip into the paper stock, instead of upon the action of moving elements as in the case of the dandy roll modification, but it is found in practice that satisfactory results may be attained by the employment of fixeddeflecting elements. The dandy roll arrangement is, however, preferred on account of the fact that it exerts a more effective leveling action upon the paper stock and prevents the formation of bubbles on the screen, due to foam produced by sizing conditions; washing conditions, acid in the stock, chemical constituents of the stock and If such bubbles occur, they are likely to leave bad. spotsin the paper when they break on the. suction box, and it is the usual practice to attempt to "eliminate the bubbles by blowing 'Another advantage ofthe dandy roll arrangement results from the action'of the roll in breaking up any lumps that may be produced in the stock, due to foam or other conditions. These lumps, if they pass over the'suction boxes, will break on the couch rolls or on the'first press rolls, and result in an imperfect sheet or perhaps even cause a tear in the sheet as it passes over the rolls.

As-thus far described, the various modifications ofjthe-invention have been shown in connection with a paper machine of the F ourdrinier ty-pe,but theinvfention is equally applicable to machines of the cylinder type and in Fig. 14 such an application of the invention has been shown. In this case. the paper machine is of usual construction and need not be described in' detail. The fiber deflecting or crossing devices are mounted I near the upper part of the cylinders 75.

The'device's may be inthe form of thedandy roll'arrangement described above,-or theyv may be in the form of the spring finger or double coilmodificati on." As shown in Fig. 14 they are in the dandy roll form and these rolls 76 are adjustably supported between side frames 77 of the machine and may be driven by a belt 78 from'the shaft of the corresponding cylinder 75. On account-0f the. fact that only slight adjustments ofthe.

the cylinders and the The exact osi-.

corresponding cylinder will'dep'end upon the characteristics of thep'aper being produced,

l the levelof the whichthe cylinders revolve.

but in general the fiber-crossing elements should act upon the stock immediately above, stock in the tanks 9 within -In the manufacture of paper upon Fourdrinier machines of the ordinary type, it

is found that when the shake is taken off that the Mullen test for the paper goes down, but it .is found in practice that by employing the apparatusfof the present invention,

.even without the shake, the Mullen .test increases .even if the paper is of a wild character. This result is due to the crossing of the fibers, so that even thin places in the paper are relatively strong and resist tearing in I all directions. In other words, it is found 1 tially'no difference between'the-tests in either direction, or

in practice that when the-invention. is em-- ployed, both the. tear 4'0 v and that one can obtain the same finger or A test and the -Mullen test show considerably increased. I readings,

pop test both in the normal directionofthe grain ofthe' paper and across the grain.

'It has been found by experiment that paper may be produced in which there is substanif there is a difference, it is slight or hardly perceptible. Such paper is particularly adapted for use inthe-manufacture of paper 'bags,'for wrapping, for newspaper, or for any other purpose where it is desirable that the paper have substantially'the same resistance to tearing in 'all directions.

I claim: 1.. A fiber deflecting apparatus for-paper 1 machines comprising means lying in the pulp 7 stream at a point-whereat a-large quantity.

'ing obliquely "to the direction of travel of they pass by'said means.

of the water has been removed and extendthe stream for producing a substantially permanent crossing effect upon the fibers as er deflecting apparatus for paper fiber demachines comprising a plurality of f has already been removed,

fleeting elements lyi ng'in the pulp stream obliquely to its direction of traveland'at a pomt Whereat alarge quantityof the water 3. fiber deflecting apparatus for paper mach1nes ..comprising fiber deflecting ele ments lymg'in the pulp stream ate-point already. been removed and adapted to move longitud nally and transversely with. respect to said stream. i

.- "3 4;. 'In a p aper machine having a traveling screen and 'SIICtlOIl boxes for removing water from ..paper stock; on the screen, the combination of agplurality of fiber deflecting elements lying in the pulp streamslightly in advance'ofthe zone of-op'eration. of the suction boxes. i

whereat 'a :large quantity of the Water has v 5. vIn a paper machine having a traveling boxes for removing water from paper stock onthe screen, the combina tion of a plurality offiber deflecting elements lying in the pulp ofthe zone of operationof the suction boxes and extending obliquelyjto the direction of travel ofthe' paperistock,"

In a paper machine, a c'ylindricalmemscreen and suction stream slightly in advance ber rotatably mounted above the pulp stream and having elements. ar'rangedupon its surface in. helical, spaced convolutions' adapted to .enter the pulp stream and'produce a cross ingeifeet upon the fibers of stock as they pass under the member;

' 7L Inapaper machine, a cylindrical member rotatably mounted above thepulp streamand having wirewound upon its surface in helical spaced convolutions adapted to enter the pulp stream and produce a crossing effect upon the'fiber's'of the member. ii n 8, In a paperlrnachine, a dandy'roll mounted above the pulp stream and having upon its surface .obliquely'arranged elements adapted to enter the pulp stream to deflect fibers of stock as they pass under-the roll,

and means for rotatingthedandy roll during the passa'geof stock thereunder. n

In a paper machine, a. dandy roll 9. mounted above the pulp stream and ,having upon its surface obliquely arranged-elements adapted toenter the pulp stream to deflect fibers of stock asthey pass under the roll, means for rotating the dandy roll during the passage of stock thereunder,and means for adjusting the dandy roll vertically andhorizontally with respect to the pulp stream. 10.1In a paper machine, the combination of plates mounted on the rails of themachine, a frame hinged to each plate at one end, .means for raising and lowering the other end of the frame, a rod on the frame,

a bearing-member mounted on the rod, a

screw for moving the bearing'meinber upon the rod, a-shaftsupported in thebearing member, a dandy roll l carried betweenv the stock as they pass under shafts on each side of the machine, fiber deflecting elements mounted-upon the dandy roll and adapted to lie in the pulp stream and means for driving the dandy roll while permitting its adjustment longitudinally of the machine by movement of the bearingmembers upon the rods. 3

11. In a paper machine, a plurality of curved fiber deflecting elements lying in the pulp stream obliquely to its direction of travel.

a point Whereat a large quantity of the Water has already been removed, to the end that the crossing effected may be substantially permanent.

l3. A method of fiber-crossing in the manufacture of paper on a Fourdrinier machine comprising crossing the fibers in the pulp stream by means of obliquely positioned deflecting elements at a point slightly in advance of the zone of operation of the suction boxes, to the end that the crossing effected may be substantially permanent.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEOliGE STANFORD WITHAM, Jr.- 

